Fastener



April 3, 1928. 1,664,582

J. WALDES FAS TENER F'iled Sent. 20, 1924 *l1`,\ml I y I7/ INVENTOR .J1Nomen WHL/)E5 ATTO R N EYS Patented Apr. A3, 1,928. 4

UNITED STATES PATENT omer..

maxon wuna' or mueca, czacnosrovma. Insulin.

Application tiled ASeptember 20, 1984, Serial No. 788,738, and 1n-Ger'many March 6, 1924.

Y Myinvention relates to fasteners and more particularly to that typewhich include a hollow main member constituting a hold-v ing device andexemplified, for instance, by

a the male member in fasteners of the glove fastener type;"the latter,generally speak.

ing, consist of two members adapted to be united by ressure'mandseparated from each other b y eing pulled apart. The object of myinvention 1s to provide a novel and simple device whereby the mainmember of the fastener may be secured 1n place upon predetermined-material m a manner to avoid the necessity for noticeabl perforatll5ing said material and to enable t e position of said member on said*material to be changed without leaving any specially visible traces ofits initiallocation on the same. The invention will be fully describedhereinafter and the features of noveltyv will be pointed out in theclaims.

- In the accompanying drawing, which shows an example .of the inventionwithout defining its limits, Fig. l is an elevationy lshowin anyapplication of the novel fastener; Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly in section, of the improved securing device which forms part of theinvention; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the main-member ofthe fas# 80tener; Fig. 4 is ,a sectional view showin said main member of thefastener secure in place upon the material in accordance wi h myinvention; Figs.y 5 and 6 areH perective views of the securing deviceand iie main member of the fastener respectively; Fig. 7 is a view ofthe fastener as it appears in place upon the material; and Figs. 8 and 9are sectional views illustrating a means whereby the main member andsecuring device may be mechanically combined.

AAs shown in the illustrated example, the fastener comprises thecustomary main member a provided with al hollow head 10, which itselfmay constitute a holding device, such as a shoe-button or the like orwhich may have an inherent resiliency and be suitably shaped for`cooperation with another member as exemplified, for instance, by thecustomary female memberv of a Afastener of the snap fastener type. Aashown in Fig. 3, the head 10 is continued in the form of atransverseflange 11 which vis crimped at its peripheral edge over an aperturedguide plate 12 for fixing the latter in place, said guide plateconverging inwardly preferably along-curved lines, as indicated at 13.The aperture in this guide plate 12 is, of course, of' ample dimensionsto admit into the interior of the hollow head 10 the 'bent-pointed pin,hereafter described, when said pin is forced' into the hood in an axialdirection. The fastening device b whereby the main member a is securedin place, consists of a head 14 in which a securing disc 15 'is ailixed,for instance by having the peripheral edge of the head 14 crimpedthereon as indicated at 16. The disc 15 is provided with a pin, needleor other puneturing device 17, one end of which is secured to said disc15, for instance b being riveted thereto as indicated at 18; t e otheror freeJ end 19 of the vpin or needle 17 ispointed and is bent orcurved, for instance as shown in the drawings. The pin or needle 17 inits preferred form, 'is o approximately even diameter throughout itslength up to the point which is bent out of the axial line of' saidneedle as shown and the even diametered rportion of said needle or pinis of materially `smaller cross-section than that of the aperture in theguide plate 12.

In practice, the main member a is placed in position with respect to thematerial c to which it is to be attached, with its crimpededge insurface engagement therewith and with the head projectingvperpendicularly from the surface of said material. `The needle 17 of thedevice `b is then 'passed through the material c by causingitspoint 19to penetra-te the same,'it beingunder'- stood that this penetration ofthe material takes place in registry with theffpint' at lwhich thefastening member 10"-i`s' located.

As the point 19 comes into contact witlrt'he inwardlyconverging'surface13 of the Vguide plate 12 it will be diverted thereby to thel interiorof the head 10 and will finally come into engagement with thesubstantially spherical inner surfacey thereof. Because of the curvedinterior surface conformation of the head 10, assisted by the curvedform of the point 19, the latter, as pres-y sure upon the head `18continues, will be forced along the interior surface of the head 10 andwill finally be coiled or bent upon itself into approximately the form'shown in Fig. 4. In this condition,approximately the entire interiorsurface of the head n.10,

along one vertical section ofvits, diameteras shown in 4, is engaged bythe looped part 17 and the entire hood is rigidified by such anengagement, the part 17 having, it,-

' of saidmem )er is 'simply cut off transversely by means of a suitablecutting instrument, such as an ordinary cutting pliers, at a polnt tosever the `Vneedle 17 whereupon the parts may be separated anddisconnected from the material c. A new fastener may thereupon besecured to material c in the new location by means of a new fasteningdevice in the manner previously` setforth. The puncture resulting fromthe penetration of the first fastening device is nacticallyunnoticeablev and, in some cases, ecause ofthe inherent properties ofthe material c, will be caused;

to disappear almost entirely. In fasteners of the snap-fastener type,the male member of the fastener has heretofore been secured in place bymeans of eyelets which require the formation of holes of a considerablesize in the material. A removal and relocation of such fasteners wastherefore more or less impossible for they reason'that the largeopenings which would remain in such case presented an objectionableappearance; furthermoreybecause of the absence of material within theconfines of such'relatively large openings, a re-adjustment of thefasteners to points within the limits of said openings could not beeffected. As the relocation of said fasteners, enerally speaking,requires` only a' slight shiftingthereof, this is a seriousdisadvantage. With the present construction, no such objections exist,as the 'puncture made by the needle 17 is sov small as to be practicallyinvisible. In addition to this advantage, the invention presents thefurther advantages that the field of usefulness of fasteners of the snapfastener type is materially enlarged as the invention in questionpermits the use of these fasteners in f many ways in which, heretofore,they have not en capable of satisfactoryuse. For instance, the novelmethod of securing the member afin lace may be utilized in connectionwith ootwearas shown by way of example in Fig. 1 and thus providesanovel fastening means for shoes and other coverings for the foot, aswell as for numerous other articles such as gloves,`lwearing apparel,leather goods, corsets, etc.` The nature of the fastening vdevice issuch that vhighly ornamental and novel effects ma be`v prorancebyornamenting and coloring the same v duced; that is to say, if the hea10 is exj'hereinbefore set forth, and the cooperating l posedto view, itmay be made of unique or by providing both a distinctive form and adistinetiveornamentation or coloring thereon. In addition, thecooperating'member, that is, the femalemember ofthe snap fastener, ifthe saine is exposed to View, ma

be made in a large variety of shapes, suc

as squares, ovals, triangles, polygons, irregular designs, buckles, andother ornamental effects, and may be constructed of metal, Celluloid,horn, mother of pearl, leather, rubber, ifabrics decorated with enamel,stones, etc., orof any other suitable material. Furthermore, thefastener may be made in `various sizes and may include any type ofspecial yspring secured in one element of the fastener or the metal ofthe latter may be cut in a predetermined manner to provide such spring,as is done at present in many existing types of snap fasteners.

'.lhe novel form of .fastener makes it possible to utilize snapfasteners for' shoes and enables the glove arrangement of fastening tobe incor orated in shoes and other footwear; that is, with the presentform of fas-- tener, as shown L1n Fig. 1, shoes and other footwear maybeclosedinl a novel manner along the centre line of the foot. Furthermore,footwear provided with the novel fastener, may be provided with gloveeffects by embroidering and otherwise, be laced, and may be either highor low as desired. With the illustrated and described fastener, newstyles in shoes and other footwear may be created,` not only from thestandpoint of appearance but also from the standpoint o f utility; thatis to say, shoe designers may create shoes and other footwear ofdistinctively different appearance from any that are'in existence at thepresent time.

1 In addition, the use of the herein described and illustrated fastener,when embodied in shoes and other footwear, facili- Atates the openingand closing thereof. With existing types of footwear, which includebuttons and button holes as the fastening means, it is necessary to usealbuttonhool,

hairpins, or other equivalent devices to button and unbutton the sameand considerable light is required in order to enable `the opera ions,particularly of buttonng, to-be properly performed. None of theimplements indicated above are required to fasten and un- `fasten shoesequipped with the novel fas- Furthermore, the.

tenet" described herein. use of the latter eliminates the necessityY forthe manufacture of buttonholes. although insome cases the fastener maybe used in conjunction with' buttonholes, somewhat in the manner inwhich cuff links at the pres-- ent .time are used for the sleeves ofsoft shirts; that is, the male member of the fastener may be firmlyattached to the shoe as lll!` ders the structure capable of use inconnecfemale member may be combined with the buttonhole and connectedwith the male member as desired.

In carrying `out the scheme, the further possibility exists that thefemale part of the fastener may be exchanged at will without requiringany cumbersome tools and a new .idea inshoc setting may thusL becreated. That is, the shoes may be on sale e uipped with the male memberof the'snap fastener and the female member may be chosen by the customerfor cooperation therewith and changed as oftenas desired. l

To still further facilitate connection and disconnection of the snapfasteners, the top of the female section thereof may be made of ovalshape or'in the form of an otherwise elongated plate, decorated .orcovered,

which will fit all "shoes with straps or any other kind of shoes. Suchplate because of its form and extended area will provide .an increasedleverage whereby disengagement ofthe fastener elements 1s easilyeffected4 and at the same time will `reduce the danger of tearing out ofthe fastener from the material as a force is exerted to separate thesame. l v

It will be understood that the character of the needle 17 may beotherwise than as illustrated and may for instancebe replaced by adouble needle or the like. The term needle as used herein is used in asense to designate a puncturing or penetrating member and is intended tobe representative ot' devices such as pins, nails, or the like.

'In any case the needle 17 is made of standard dimensions which willmeet the requirements of all uses as the length of said needle 17' issufficient for. any thickness of all materials in connection with whichthe fasteners are likely to be used. The loop will simply become largeror smaller and, therefore, one standard sized needle will cover allrequirements. In every ease, whether the loop is larger or smaller, theplate 19. and the relatively small aperture 13 thereof, will sccurelyhold the coil or loop within the fastener element a notwithstanding thefact that the cross-sectionof the straight pin 'por-- -tion at its level.nearest the pin-admittin aperture is materially smaller than that osaid aperture. In fact this very feature rention with fabrics ofdifferent thicknesses.

In no position of the needle with respect .to

the plate 12, whether the needle be coiled to n a greater or to a lesserextent within the hood a, will any part of the straight portions of thepin ever be restrained or jammed *otherwords, the arrangement is suchthat the straight part of the pin, whatever may r be the final positionof association as be- Atween the pin'and the hood, will be relavmovementof the die e.

tively free from and unsupported by any other part of the hood memberthan that which is in contact with the coiled part of the pin. The loopformed by the needle in the main member a will strengthen this mainmember and, therefore, theF latter can be made from very thin materialsuch as brass iron, etc. The'needle 17 should be made o materialsufficiently rigid to resist collapse at any point between its ends whenlunder pressure of the dies d and e, 'although sufficiently pliable tocoil over'readily at the pointed end.

In addition to the above, the invention greatly simplifiesl theoperation of fastening the main member in p ace and reducesfthisoperation to'the sim lest form. Any suitable means may be utllized forfastening the member a in place; for instance, as shown by way-ofexample in Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings, the main member may be'mountedin position in a suitable die d and the head 1,0

lof the fastenin device in a cooperating die e, said dies being broughttogether in the operationlof uniting the elements a and b. In order tofacilitate the penetration of the material the fastening device in suchcase.

may be mounted in the die e preferably so that the needle 17 is inclinedm a lengthwise direction with respect to the .direction of It fwill beunderstood that, in operation, the material c is placed'over the member10 after the latter has been mounted in the die d, after which the diee, with the fastening device affixed therein, is lowered to causethepoint 19 to penetrate said material and to deform the needle in thehead 10 b a continued actuation of the die e. It wi 1 be understood thatthe die e will be operated under sufficient.

pressure to securely fasten the fastening device of the fastening membertogether in the indicatedl manner. hand power, as there is less forcerequired to perform this operation than'would be needed in the case ofrivets and it is thus possible, and in fact, the preferred practice, tomount the -dies d and e in a toggle-jointed, hand operated plier tool ofconventional construct1on. lIf desired, the die d may be the mov-` Thiscan be done by able die or, in some cases, both dies may-be v caused toapproach eachother.

The illustrated example of the means for fastenin the members a and b inplace is intende to be representative only and said means may bereplaced by other suitable devices. It will (be observed that thisinvention makes it possible and easy, without employing speciallytrained or vskilled. labor or operators of special experience or power,to remove and to' relocate the fastener elements a anywhere on thearticle on which the cooperating fastener element is situated, allWithout loss of appreciable time so that any re-adjustment can be madewhile the custure tomer is waiting, e. g., in a shoe store while v thecustomeris tryin on shoes.

Various changes in the specific form shown and described maybe madewithin the scope of the claims without departing from the s irit of 'myinvention. e

I c aim: 1. In combination with a carryin material a fastener of thetypedescribe comprisirig a hood element bearing against one ace of saidmaterial and having a pin-admitting aperture and a hollow interior,comrising arched top and arched sides'merging into ya smooth surfacehaving a gently chan ing curvature throughout and being free rom abruptchanges in curvature, a pin member having a head bearing against theother face of said material, and havin a straight pin portion ofmaterially sma ler cross-section at its level nearest the pin-admittingaperture than that of said aperture, and having a bent portion formedinto a coil Within the hood, the parts of said pin located within thehood being smoothly coiledout of theaxial line of the pin in oppositedirections therefrom, said coil operating as a fixed, locked tensioncontrol agent for the carrying material, the lower faces of said agentfitting with snug surface-engagement against the ower faces of thearched sides of the hood interior at o posite sides of the axial line ofthe pin While the upper face of said agent fits with snug surfaceengagement against the arched top of the hood interior said coil makingrigid the hood struc,-

by making continuous uninterrupted contact between the outer surface ofthe coil and the inner surface of the hood, said continuous contactbeginning from a point to one side of the in axis, lower thnthe wideportion of the side arch of the hood interior and extending,continuously in contact with the inner surface of the hood, to a pointlower than such wide portion of the side arch of the hood interior asfaces an opposed part of the pin axis, the coil being of such characteras results from initially introducing a Arelatively long pin having itspoint initially bent to one side, through the carrying ma.-

vim

terial, into contact with the arched top of the hood interior and thenapplying pressure between the pin head and the hood until the carryingmaterial is tightly clamped theretransformed into a coil when introducedbetween.

2. A fastening element adapted to be aperture, said element beingconstitute of an .l enlarged head and of a relatively long pin portion vof substantially uniform, untapered cross-section throughout its majorextent, and terminating in a relatively short stocky p oint extendinglaterally from the unta red pin portion, said untapered pin portioniiging of materially smaller cross-section -throughout than that of theaperture of the hood member with which the pin member is adaptmation ofthe point v tip forms ay smooth coil within said hood member, the coilembodying `a large art of the untapered portion of the pin, t e coilseating itself in continuous sui-face contact with'` the inner walls ofthe hood and havin a spiral-like configuration, maintaining andpreserving contact between the surfaces of the outermost portion vof thecoil and the inner surface .of the hood from a point below the widestpart of the hood and continuously along the` inner surface of the hoodto an opposed point below thewidest part of the hood, the axis of thepin being .intermediate between said points. 3. In combination with acarryingvv material a fastener of the typfe described comprising a hoodclement bearing against one face o f said material and having a hollowinterior, comprising arched top and arched sides merging intoacontinuous curvedfsurface having a ently changing curvature throughoutandr cing free from abrupt changes in curvature, a pin member, a guideplate -,positioned at the open end of said hood element, an apertured`inside guide plate of suiicient dimensions to permit the passa'etherethrough, in an axial direction, of t e pin member when its point isbent to one side before the in member is inserted through the carryingmaterial and throu h the guide plate into the hood interior, te said pinmember haring a head bearin against the other face of said material, anhaving a pin portion formed into a coil within the hood, the parts ofsaid pin located agent tting with snug surface-engagementY avainst-thelower faces of the arched sides ofthe hood interiorl at op osite sidesof the 'axial line of the pin wlii ethe upper face of said agentfits-with snug surfaceen agement against the arched top lof-'theY oodinterior, said coil rigidifying vthe vhood structure by Amakingcontinuous uninterrupted contact between the outer surface of the coiland thc inner surface of the hood, said continuous contact beginningfrom a point to one side of the pin axis, lower than the wide portion ofthe side arch ofthe hood interior and extending, continuously in contactwith the inner surface of the hood, to a. oint lower than such wideportion of the si e arch of the hood interior as faces an opposed partof the pin axis, the coil being of such character as results frominitially introducing a relatively long pin having its point initiallybent to one side, through the carrying material, through the aperturedguide plate, and into contact with the arched top of the hood interiorand then a plying pressure between the pin head and t e hood until thecarrying material is tightly clamped therebetween.

4. Carrying material combined with fastener elements as set forth inclaim 3 in whichthe apertured guide plate is secured in position inassociation with the hood member by confinement otits peripheral'against one face of said material and having a pin-admitting apertureand a globular interior surface, a pin member having a head bearingagainst the other surface of said material and a straight portion ofmaterially smaller cross-section at its level nearest the pin-admittingaperture than that ot' said aperture, and a coil integral with the pintightly seated against the inner walls of the hood and having aspiral-like configuration, said coil maintaining and preservmg contactbetween the surfaces of the outermost portion of the coil and the innervsurface of the hood from a point below the widest art of the hood andcontinuously along tie inner surface of the hood to an opposed pointbelow the widest part of the hood, the axis and straight portion of thepin being intermediate between said points and said straight portionbeing at least for the major portion of itsl periphery out of contactwith any part of the hood element.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set m hand.

y JINDRICH wALDEs.

